Gibson Byrdland

This is a classic hollowbody guitar, favored by many players. My boss owns one, and once he deemed me worthy, started letting me play it on occasion. It has a spruce top with a maple body and neck. The fretboard is made of ebony, a rare treat. There are 22 frets and two humbucker pickups, with two volume and two tone knobs and a three-way pickup selector switch. Depending on which model you buy, the guitar has a shallower round cutaway or a deeper pointed one. The guitar is a beautiful specimen, classy and elegant when not beaten up or damaged.

UTILIZATION

The very top notes, even with the cutaway, are somewhat difficult to reach and still get a good sound. I never really thought that was too much of a problem though, as I tend to use this guitar more for jazz and similar styles of playing. The neck is actually really thin and the scale isn't quite as long as usual, which allows the player to form some complex, wide-reaching chords easily. Getting a nice sound out of this thing is a snap, it plays smoothly and excellently. It's a bit on the bigger side, but it's not as awkward to play as some of the older archtop hollow bodies. The drivers on the guitar that I play are stable.

SOUNDS

I tend to keep this as vintage as possible when playing, so for me, I like to use our studio's VOX AC30s or the Fender Twin reverb. Basically nothing that will rob the guitar of its brightness or warmth. Warm is definitely the best way to describe it, the thing is as smooth as butter. It's got a great low end that doesn't get to woofy, and the mid and highs are both at a respectably low level. Any traditional jazz player or old-school country player could dig this, as would anyone trying to emulate the sounds of the 50s rockers. Ted Nugent even plays one at times, and gets some GREAT rock tones out of it. Basically a versatile guitar if there ever was one, as long as you're not trying to shred on some metal or play punk or anything TOO modern.

OVERALL OPINION

The sound and feel of this guitar are priceless. And everyone apparently knows it too, because these guitars are ridiculously expensive. I've seen them go for 20,000 dollars! I can't even imagine paying that for any guitar, but certainly I would choose this one if I had to pay that much for anything. I don't own this guitar, but play it often, and I can tell you that it brings me much joy. Five Stars overall.

In which country was it made? USA
What kind of microphone: Alnico
What are the settings: volume, tone, micro switch

UTILIZATION

The handle is it nice? YES
Access to acute (last string) Is it easy? YES
Ergonomics is it good (in terms of shape, weight ...) YES
Do you get a good sound easy? YES ...

SOUNDS

Are they suitable for your style of music? YES


OVERALL OPINION

For how long have you been using it? 6 months
What thing do you like most/least about it? Quarter cash: very fine
Did you try many other models before getting this one? YES
What is your opinion about the value for the price? Ok